Sec. 218. Department of Defense technology offset program to build and maintain the military technological superiority of the United States
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The Secretary of Defense shall establish a technology offset program to build and maintain the military technological superiority of the United States by— accelerating the fielding of offset technologies that would help counter technological advantages of potential adversaries of the United States, including directed energy, low-cost, high-speed munitions, autonomous systems, undersea warfare, cyber technology, and intelligence data analytics, developed using research funding of the Department of Defense and accelerating the commercialization of such technologies; and developing and implementing new policies and acquisition and business practices.
Not later than one year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall issue guidelines for the operation of the program established under paragraph (1), including— criteria for an application for funding by a military department, Defense Agency, or a combatant command; the purposes for which such a department, agency, or command may apply for funds and appropriate requirements for technology development or commercialization to be supported using program funds; the priorities, if any, to be provided to field or commercialize offset technologies developed by certain types of research funding of the Department; and criteria for evaluation of an application for funding or changes to policies or acquisition and business practices by such a department, agency, or command for purposes of the program.
Under the program established under subsection (a)(1), not less frequently than annually, the Secretary shall solicit from the heads of the military departments, the Defense Agencies, and the combatant commands applications for funding to be used to enter into contracts, cooperative agreements, or other transaction agreements entered into pursuant to section 2371b of title 10, United States Code, as added by section 815, with appropriate entities for the fielding or commercialization of technologies.
Nothing in this section shall be interpreted to require any official of the Department of Defense to provide funding under this section to any Congressional earmark as defined pursuant to clause 9 of rule XXI of the Rules of the House of Representatives or any congressionally directed spending item as defined pursuant to paragraph 5 of rule XLIV of the Standing Rules of the Senate. Subject to the availability of appropriations for such purpose, of the funds authorized to be appropriated by this Act or otherwise made available for fiscal year 2016 for research, development, test, and evaluation, Defense-wide, not more than $300,000,000 may be used for each such fiscal year for the program established under subsection (a)(1).
Of the funds specified in paragraph
(1)for any of fiscal years 2016 through 2020, not more than $150,000,000 may be used for each such fiscal year for activities in the field of directed energy. The Secretary may transfer funds available for the program established under subsection (a)(1) to the research, development, test, and evaluation accounts of a military department, Defense Agency, or a combatant command pursuant to an application, or any part of an application, that the Secretary determines would support the purposes of the program. The transfer authority provided in paragraph
(1)is in addition to any other transfer authority available to the Secretary of Defense. The authority to carry out the program under subsection (a)(1) shall terminate on September 30, 2020. Any amounts made available for the program that remain available for obligation on the date on which the program terminates may be transferred under subsection
(d)during the 180-day period beginning on the date of the termination of the program.